


Time to Strike Back

by RyasmaRaven



Category: Hermitcraft, Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Light Angst, Minor Violence, Multiple Perspectives, Multiple Plots, Strong Friendships, Temporary Character Death, Will add hermits as they appear, ask to tag, because duh, story-ception, winged Grian au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-12
Updated: 2020-07-11
Packaged: 2020-11-27 08:35:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 18,786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20945426
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RyasmaRaven/pseuds/RyasmaRaven
Summary: In a universe where worlds are inexplicably connected, keeping one's world free of unwelcome visitors can be a very dangerous prospect the hermits aren't exempt from. Luckily, Xisuma has an elegant solution to this problem, a team of highly skilled hermits tasked with dealing with anything, or anyone, who doesn't belong. Unfortunately, their world has some problems of its own...





	1. Act 1: Every Story has a Beginning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WELCOME ABOARD

A forest at night. Dark and silent, save for the movements of those not yet asleep. Two shadows break the stillness, edging gingerly forward, as if avoiding detection. The second shadow pauses, in thought.

"Are you sure this is the right way, Iskall? Xisuma mentioned they were headed towards the river. I'm pretty sure this is not towards the river."

The first shadow comes to a stop, a small blue light blinking to life to look back at the first.

"Python? Do you remember why we're here?"

The second shadow squirmed slightly in anticipation. "To take out the hoppers before they establish a foothold; I wasn't sleeping through the briefing."

The blue light dimmed as the first shadow returned to his task of scouring the forest floor. "They've been here a few days already; if they're smart, they would have set spawns. Right now I'm trying to find where that would be."

"That does make sense."

Iskall grunted, half as an acknowledgment and half as a warning to stay quiet. The three people he was tracking had made no visible effort to conceal their passage. Even if they had, it wouldn't have made a difference to the keen eyes of an experienced tracker, especially one with the help of a mechanical eye. Following the tracks with ease, he and Python ghosted through the trees, moving ever closer to their goal.

After about half an hour, Iskall came to a stop, Python close behind. The latter moved slightly to the side to get a better view of their target. Before them was a small campsite, empty.

"Bingo," said Iskall with a small grin.

"You don't think they have newer spawns set? They're not here tonight, maybe they've moved on." Python scanned the campsite, noting the single chest surrounded by three beds.

"You could be right, just by looking at the campsite." Iskall stared into the forest, blue eye flickering. "Unfortunately-" He turned back to Python, "-Concorp's drones tell a different story. They were here last night; it seems tonight they're chopping wood. A lot of it."

Python looked up from his bed destruction. "Cub really lets you view the live drone footage?"

"Temporarily, yeah. I've asked politely before, but he said only X could make him grant me access, and only when necessary."

Suddenly, Python hissed a warning. Iskall, sorting through the one chest, barely had time to react before his friend vanished and three strangers walked into the clearing. They seemed just as startled to see him as he was.

One of the women was the first to react, pulling her sword and leveling it at Iskall. "Back away." He did as told, eye flickering through the drone footage. The woman addressed her companions. "Nova, I thought you said this world was uninhabited."

The man just sighed. "I didn't have time to scan a large enough area to get an accurate reading; just a few hundred blocks radius."

"Obviously you picked the wrong hundred blocks, idiot," the second woman scolded.

"Oh well how was I supposed to know? If you guys had given me enough time, we wouldn't have this problem."

Iskall had locked eyes with the first woman, standing at a stalemate; each could not move without the other reacting in time. But though all the confusion, the trio didn't notice a mirage ghosting behind them, but the eagle-eyed hunter did. Waiting for Python to get in position, Iskall interrupted the argument before it got too far.

"Regardless of how you got here, you're going to have to continue on you're way. This world is taken."

The woman staring him down snorted. "Really? By you and your twenty friends? I see they're all here to help take care of the problem."

Iskall dissolved into a fit of laughter, pulling himself together to say, "Yeah, something like that," before giving the signal.

Instantly, Python was out of the bushes and cutting the man down, who exploded in a shower of items. In the same instant, Iskall had his glaive drawn and was locked in an intense and deadly dance with the woman in front of him. She was good, but she wasn't False. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Python slip under the guard of the second woman after a brief exchange, reducing her to a pile of items.

A particularly brutal swipe brought Iskall's attention back to the fight. This definitely wasn't False, this was Biffa; but unrefined and sloppy. Switching tactics, he feinted to the left, drawing her attention away from Python's location. Then, as expected, a leg came crashing into the back of her knee, just in time for the butt of Iskall's glaive to collide with her jaw, throwing her to the ground. A swift strike from the glaive took her out.

The world was silent, save for the light breathing of the two hermits.

Python broke the silence. "Well, they certainly were gathering wood. Seems all their inventories were full of it."

Iskall was staring off, still cycling through the drone footage. "Apparently they started heading back right after I checked on them. Dang it!" He started kicking through the wood. "And they were collecting birch! Why birch!?"

Python had a different idea. "You think we can sell this to Ren? This is a hefty amount of wood."

Looking back at the piles of logs, Iskall had a new gleam in his eye. "Maybe," he muttered. "Maybe."

* * *

It turned out Ren was happy to buy all the birch logs, but at a much lower price than the two were expecting. Iskall even tried some of his tried and tested flattery; Ren's price didn't budge, but he gave them both a discount for their next purchase at Big Logs. Satisfied, Iskall and Python flew off to Xisuma's base to give him their report.

It took them a bit longer than expected to get ahold of him, but they chalked it up to admin duties. Yet all throughout the report, X kept getting distracted. To the point where Python asked, "Is something bothering you, X? We can come back later, if that would be better."

X waved his hand, dismissing the idea. "No, it's fine. The Nether's been acting up again, should be nothing. I've gotten all I need from you two, you're free to go."

Iskall shared a look with Python before saying, "Are you sure it's nothing? Last time you said this happened, you weren't this...distracted. We're here for a reason, X. If something is wrong, we can deal with it."

Again, X dismissed the idea. "Thanks, Iskall, but there shouldn't be a need. I'm sure it's just a matter of cleaning some data and resetting some chunks." Then he met the gazes of the two concerned Strikers. Resigned, he amended, "If I need the team, I'll contact False, okay?" That seemed to satisfy them.

* * *

Leaving X to his thoughts, the two flew in the direction of the main island. Coming up on Grian's base, however, Iskall veered off; he could tell Grian was hiding something from him, and watching the builder squirm was too much fun. Python continued west to the shopping district, before finally heading to Tower Bay.

Touching down on his red skyscraper, Python looked over the work of the man he just visited. Did Xisuma really have the Nether situation under control? As Iskall had pointed out, X wasn't reacting in the same way to this one. On the other hand, had there been anything server related that the admin hadn't been able to handle?

Gazing at the sun, not yet at it's zenith, Python realized how tired he was. He eyed his half-finished purple tower, then his bed. The bed was more inviting. Climbing into it, he couldn't help but feel a sense of foreboding encroaching on his consciousness. These world-hopping incidents had gotten more frequent; he knew Iskall had had to deal with three of them, and Python himself had dealt with another. Was this uptick in incidents indicative of anything greater?

_Oh, he had no idea._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is somethin' happening in the Nether? Honestly, when is something not happening in the Nether?
> 
> Interested in more? Tumblr is triple-a-enderdragon, you might find some tidbits there ;)


	2. Are You Ready for a Surprise?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An introduction, a discovery, a mistake.

Was this a dream? Something told him it was. Even with an elytra, this was impossible.

Grian floated through the night sky, aimless. Was he lucid dreaming? He concentrated, trying to make something appear. Hm. Nothing. And so he wandered.

After an eon and an instant, something was different. Had that been there before? No. Yes! He wasn't sure.

_Welcome._

That was definitely new. "Uh, hello?"

A gentle wave of warmth washed over him, along with a feeling of...approval?

_Hello._ An apparition, feminine in nature, appeared before the builder. _I have been watching for a while, but the time has come._ Wings Grian had not yet seen, two pairs, unfurled as the being beckoned him closer. _Walk with me._

Grian, however, was rooted to the spot. "Who are you?" he blurted out.

The being chuckled, another wave of warmth came. _Why, I am Air. I am the wind beneath your wings, I am the breeze dancing in the leaves. Would you mind a walk? I have much to show you._

They walked side by side for many minutes; Grian wondering what it as she wanted to show him. But as time went on, he began to notice things about the lands below. There was the Halloween district, Jevin's base, his own base, the main island, Cub's massive golf course. The long, thin ice biome Iskall and Stress share. Mumbo's perimeter. The Iron Titan.

She was showing him the world the hermits called home.

_I see this every day. You are all busy little bees; it is honestly a joy to watch you work._ The wistful look she had was replaced by a more serious one. _But I have been putting off something for far too long._

"Is that why you've brought me here?"

_You're a quick learner._ She turned away, towards the direction they came. _Come. We must return._

A meandering journey brought them back to the start. The cloudy, weightless structure rose before them, the sunrise a perfect background.

_You will wake soon._ Air turned to face Grian. _But first, I have a proposition for you._

* * *

The next thing Grian knew, someone was barreling into his base, shouting his name. He shifted in bed, turning to face the man who so rudely interrupted his sleep.

Instead, he found Iskall, holding a familiar piece of paper, absolutely speechless. At first, Grian thought he was speechless about the paper, but then he noticed Iskall looking just behind him. Then he remembered the dream. _Oh._

Now it was Grian's turn to be shocked, as he awkwardly unfurled two large and very real wings.

"Well, you certainly never cease to surprise me," Iskall said, still mesmerized. The paper in his hand was forgotten.

"Um, yeah. About this...have you ever heard of Elements?"

"Well, I mean, yeah. There's oxygen, carbon, gold, copper-"

"No no no," Grian interrupted, "like powerful beings that control aspects of reality."

Iskall looked like at him like he was slightly crazy. "No, I haven't. Sorry, dude."

"Well, it was one of these Elements that gave me these," Grian gestured to his new wings, "along with some other stuff."

"Sounds kinda like what Wels had years ago. And from what he told me, these kinda things don't come free. I would be careful if I were you."

"I know, but Iskall! Look!" And Grian spread his wings, stretching them to the limit. "I won't have to worry about elytra anymore! Or rockets!" Iskall looked like he would much rather stick with elytra and rockets, thank you very much.

Grian then realized Iskall was here for a reason, and it wasn't because of his new wings. So he turned to the Swede and asked, "So what brought you here anyway?"

Iskall snapped back to reality. "Right! Well, I came here to..." He looked at the paper in his hand. "I thought you might have something to do with this." Grian leaned in to look at what the paper said. The familiar phrase of _ISKALL, ARCHITECH, LOL?_ met him, and he couldn't help but giggle.

"Yeah, I thought you might."

"So? What's your answer?" said Grian with a mischievous smile.

"What do you think!? That I'm going to give up an opportunity like this? I need something big to do now the war is over."

"What, the war you started?"

"I didn't start it!" Iskall said indignantly, "I merely...helped it along. And yes. I accept."

"Ok lol." And with that, Grian spread his wings and took off.

And promptly crashed into the floor.

He picked himself up and turned to a very smug Iskall. "No one needs to know about that. No one at all," warned Grian. Iskall was still slyly grinning as he turned to leave. "I mean it! No one!"

"Yeah yeah, I hear you." Iskall turned around one last time to say, "You should probably learn how to use those."

"That's what I was going to do!" Grian shouted at the fleeing silhouette.

* * *

Xisuma was in his base. He was spending more time there than usual; on a day like this he would be working on Tower Bay, but the anomalies from the Nether had grown more concerning as time passed. His base had the easiest access to the world framework, so X occupied his hands doing busywork, continuing long after his base was as clean and orderly as he could make it. Often with difficult problems, his base ended up looking spotless and sterile; unlived in.

Eventually, a beeping brought him back to reality. The beeping was from his suit, reminding him he hadn't eaten in over twelve hours. Or rested. Or done anything else, really. Maybe taking a break from the Nether problem was a good idea, X was exhausted and could feel a headache coming on.

Before he could do anything about that, however, he heard the nether portal go off; Impulse climbing out of it.

"Hey, X!"

"Hey, Impulse. What brings you here?" X turned to his friend, who looked bizarrely concerned.

"Man, I didn't realize...you look tired, do you want me to come back later?"

X waved his hand, dismissing the thought. Why did the others think he couldn't handle a little stress? "No, I'm fine. Tell what's on your mind."

Impulse didn't look convinced, but continued anyway, "I don't know if you know anything about this, I'm worried about Tango; he's been acting weird lately."

This piqued X's interest. "How so?" he prompted.

"Well, for one he's distracted most of the time. I would hesitate to call it paranoia, but...I think it's reaching that point. And one of the most worrying things, he refuses to go into the Nether anymore! Tango! Who spends as much time as he can in lava! He even tried to stop _me_ from using the Nether to get here." Impulse looked back at the portal. "It's almost as if he's afraid of it."

X was awake now, sharp as a tack. "The Nether? Has he said why?" 

Impulse glanced at X before returning his gaze to the portal. "No. But I have a feeling that whatever it is, it terrifies him."

"I'll have to talk to him. Do you know where he is now?" X asked, checking his inventory.

"When I left he was at the lag district, where all our farms are. Maybe he's still there." Impulse watched as X's exhaustion seemed to melt away. "Are you sure you should go now? You looked like you were going to drop a minute ago."

X stared him down. "What kind of admin would I be if I couldn't handle a bit of tiredness? Besides, the Nether's acting up and Tango may be the first break I've had in a while.

"The Nether's been acting up!? Why didn't you tell me? You know Cub and I can help!"

X sighed. "I'm sure it's nothing too serious. I didn't want to waste your guy's time."

"X! That's why we're OP's! Specifically so you can 'waste our time'. You know you can't bear the load yourself. Let at least _one_ of us help!" Impulse pleaded.

X sighed. "Fine, I'll ask Cub." The other hermit was about to interrupt, but X stopped him. "If I brought you along, Tango may be less inclined to open up."

"Really? If you insist. But remember, if you need extra manpower, I'm here." The two men exchanged a nod, and Impulse left X to his own thoughts. However, all he could think was _man, I need a nap._

* * *

Several hours later and a three am _good morning :)_ message from Iskall (seriously, does the guy ever sleep?) saw Xisuma ready to look for Tango. He stepped through his portal and immediately, familiar warning text showed up in his helmet as he arrived in the Nether. He dismissed it. If all goes to plan, he wouldn't have to worry about _that again._

Unfortunately, X was traveling through the Nether distracted. 

_Xisuma was slain by Ghast_

...

_[falsesymmetry] need help, X?_

...

_[falsesymmetry] X?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you're enjoying the adventure so far!


	3. Dreaming of Flames

Not many hermits usually see the early hours of the morning, but today was a special occasion. Once False alerted Iskall and Jevin, the only other hermits awake, the three of them worked to mobilize the rest of the gang. It went smoothly, except...

Most of the hermits had made it to the pavilion outside iTrade waiting for the stragglers to fly in. Once Impulse has confirmed where Xisuma's respawn point was, Iskall flew off to check; just to make sure X wasn't there. He came back with nothing to show, confirming everyone's fears.

Impulse was pacing back and forth, anxiously awaiting the arrival of one of the last hermits, Cub. Now that X was out of the picture, the two of them would have a tough time to figure out what was going on. Suddenly Impulse was glad he talked to X when he did, otherwise they would have has a _much_ harder time than they already did.

He looked towards where the Strike Team was deep in conversation, wondering what they were talking about. They drew more attention to themselves as the conversation turned into an argument between False and Iskall on what they should do next. False caught Impulse's eye and beckoned him over.

"Impulse! You may have noticed that Iskall and I can't agree on what to do next. Can you be the tiebreaker? These three aren't helping," False said, pointing to Python, Biffa, and Wels; who looked like they didn't want to get involved.

"Of course! What do you have in mind?"

"I think we need to create a plan, make sure everyone is safe. After what we assume happened to Xisuma, no one should be alone if possible. We need to figure out what's happening before we do anything rash." This last point she directed at Iskall, who didn't seem convinced.

"We still need to find X's body! Are we just going to leave him in the Nether!? He's our admin!" Iskall protested.

"I know that, but—" False was interrupted by a beep from her communicator; in fact, the mumble of the assembled hermits died down as they all received the same message

_[cubfan135 was blown up by Creeper]_

False and Iskall exchanged a look.

"Ok, you win. But you're finding Cub, not X," False said. "Don't go into the Nether, Iskall. We can't afford to lose you."

"Don't worry, I'll be careful. You know where he was coming from?" Iskall asked as he prepared to take off.

"He should have just been coming from Concorp, but..." False gestured helplessly.

"I'll find him."

False watched the disappearing silhouette. "I know you will." She turned her attention to the assembly of hermits, somehow not noticing Tango's absence. Impulse, tuning out her address to the others, did.

* * *

Flying over Concorp, Iskall was on the lookout for creeper holes. Starting at the entrance, his search area slowly, yet steadily, increased. A few minutes passed, he found nothing. Not wanting to risk Cub's items despawning, Iskall tried a different method. Closing his right eye, he focused on his left. Slowly, he could feel his diamond sense coming online. He expanded this sixth sense, taking great care to ignore anything in chests, until he could feel a set of armor and tools. This had to be Cub, he could feel it.

And so, grabbing his rockets, Iskall took to the skies once more.

* * *

Tango was alone. Hiding amongst the foliage of Big Logs, he tried to make sense of what had happened over the last few days. First the change to the Nether, then the dreams, then...

Even before Iskall left to look for Cub, Tango knew, as he had known with X.

Cub wasn't coming back any time soon.

Oddly enough, he had felt Cub's death before the message popped up; same with X. He didn't want to know what implications this had. Maybe it had to do with the figure in his dream; the looming column of fire that burned him when no other fire could. Paying what was owed.

_I made you who you are._

A death he never got, a deal never made.

_Let's see if you have what it takes._

"Tango?"

Startled, Tango looked up to find Grian, his new wings spread out awkwardly behind him.

"H-what? How did you find me?"

"You're bright red, dude. You stick out like a sore thumb."

"Ah, I see.." Tango hadn't taken camouflage into account.

"Impulse and False said they need to talk to you."

_Let's see if you have what it takes._

* * *

Back in her base, False was impatient. Once her address to the hermits was done, Impulse had informed her that Tango was missing, and he may be important to what was going on. Immediately she sent Grian off to look for him and had been waiting for them since.

While she had paced back and forth, Iskall had come back with a worrying charge; Cub's limp body. He and Impulse then left to bring Cub to the infirmary beneath the Ministry of Truth, leaving him in Joe's care. They, too, had yet to return.

At the sound of a rocket firing, False's head snapped up. Tango and Grian were gliding in to meet her. As they landed, False admired Grian's tawny wings and how quickly he had adapted to them. In the few days since he mysteriously received them, he had improved tremendously.

As Grian stepped forward to greet her, Tango stayed back. That told her he was hiding something.

As Grian started to say something, he noticed False was looking right passed him, at the man behind him. It was a cold, calculating look, one that made him pause. He looked between False and Tango, before settling awkwardly into a corner.

Minutes passed and the tension only grew. He was almost relieved when he heard rockets overhead. Almost; things could only escalate from here.

As Iskall and Impulse touched down, False addressed them; her eyes never leaving Tango.

"You boys took your time. Is Cub safe?"

"Yes, Joe said he would watch him; to see if anything changes," Iskall answered.

False finally tore her eyes from Tango to look at Impulse, who was, in turn, looking at Tango.

"Impulse. You said Tango was important to what's going on, care to enlighten us?"

Impulse took a deep breath and, ignoring Tango's pleading eyes, said, "According to X, the Nether's been acting up." At this, False noticed Iskall stiffened. Interesting. Impulse continued, "And recently Tango's been acting weird around the Nether. I believe the two are connected."

Everyone turned to Tango. He looked at the ground and sighed.

"At first, I noticed the change in the Nether. I could always feel the Nether, how it changed between updates. This was different. It felt...off." False started to interrupt, but Tango stopped her. "You asked for an explanation, let me explain."

"At first I brushed it off as an update, even though we're not due for one for a while. Then..." He had to compose himself. "Then the dream. A being of fire. But at the same time, it wasn't a dream." Tango rolled up his sleeve, showing a rather nasty burn. "It shouldn't have been able to do this, but it did." He rolled his sleeve back down. "It didn't say much, except that I was being tested. On what, I don't know."

False was again about to say something, but was interrupted by Iskall.

"Grian? You ok, dude?"

Everyone turned to Grian, who looked like a deer in headlights. All he mumbled was, "So this is what she meant?" before taking off.

Immediately, False signaled Iskall to follow him. It wasn't safe for anyone to be alone at this point in time and she couldn't let anyone risk their lives doing something rash.

Hoping that would be enough, she turned back to Tango and Impulse, the latter already showing the strain of his responsibilities. The three of them would have to handle the crisis; and with the Strike Team backing them up, she knew it was more than doable. But in her heart, without Xisuma's constant and reassuring presence, she couldn't quite believe it.

* * *

Grian heard rockets behind him. Not what he wanted to hear, since he wished to be alone. He only hoped he could out-fly whoever it was and lose them in the trees below. It was dangerous to fly an elytra underneath the canopy, but with his wings, Grian was as agile as ever.

Diving into the forest, Grian dodged and weaved between the trees like he had never done before. He could still hear rockets, but they were above him, and further behind. His plan was working. What he hadn't thought about was how quickly night was falling; he had to make a temporary shelter here. Was that dangerous? Yes; but he needed to be alone where no one could find him.

He didn't account for his pursuer's excellent tracking skills, as three minutes had barely passed when he heard a knock on the wall.

"Grian. Are you going to let me in, or will I have to break in?"

Grian groaned. Of course. "Go away, Iskall. I want to be alone."

He heard shuffling outside, followed by, "Well, that's the thing. False said no one's supposed to be alone outside of well-lit areas." Iskall paused. "You may be able to tell, but this is not a well-lit area." Another pause. "I could lure a creeper here if you want-"

"Okay, fine!" Grian broke the two dirt blocks serving as his door, glaring at the man standing beyond them. "Happy now?"

"Not yet, hang on..." Iskall gave a whistle and instantly a massive husky appeared beside him. "Since you mind my company, I thought you wouldn't mind hers."

"I don't mind your company, just...right now I would rather be alone," Grian said as he watched Venus waltz into his makeshift house.

"I know. I'll carve out my own little room, that way I'm just two dirt blocks away, if you need me." Iskall watched as Venus started poking through Grian's pockets. "And she's here for some non-human company."

Grian absentmindedly rubbed the husky's head. "That I think I can handle."

* * *

The night passed uneventfully; the early morning brought a message from False.

_[falsesymmetry to: iskall85, PythonGB] Iskall, Python, Nether. Bring back Xisuma's body asap. Do not risk anything. We're counting on you._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dogs can make everything better :)
> 
> For now, at least...


	4. Into the Fires of Hell

It was a cold, dull morning. False, Iskall, Impulse, and Python were outside iTrade making the final preparations. The whole time False could not stop emphasizing the importance of not taking risks; she just couldn't bear the thought of losing her two flankers. They both were constantly reassuring her they would be extra careful in bringing X back. Knowing how they—and Biffa—acted on the battlefield, she wasn't fully convinced. But what could she do?

Eventually, Iskall—who was eager to get this over with—got tired of False's constant worry. "For the last time, we'll be careful! Now can we go get Xisuma or not?"

False, who was already feeling the effects of the constant stress, relented. "Yes, I know. I'm sorry, it's just..."

Python spoke up, "Look, we'll be in and out, ten minutes. With this guy—" he pointed at Iskall, "—on the hunt, X will be found in no time."

"I'm so glad you put so much faith in my tracking."

"It took you, what, six minutes to find Cub?"

The exchange between the three Strikers went unheard by Impulse. He was watching the sky, deep in thought. No matter how careful Iskall and Python were, Tango's warnings about the Nether had horrifying implications. Who knew if X's body would even still be there? It had been almost a day since his death.

Tango. He was back in his base, Impulse knew. He and False had flown him there. Ren was watching to alert either of them if Tango suddenly was acting weirder than he currently was, but still Impulse worried. It scared him how quickly things could fall apart, when X wasn't there. How quickly he and False were overwhelmed.

He never heard Iskall and Python go through the portal, and frankly, he was glad.

* * *

He was dead, that much he knew. But where? The surrounding fire told him the Nether, but it didn't feel like the Nether he knew. That massive pillar of flame was definitely new.

_You're awake._

Xisuma was instantly alert. "Who are you?"

A dark sinister chuckle echoed through the chamber. _I am your new master. Your old one is...kind of a bore._

"My old master? I have no master. Even the Guardian's not my master."

_You don't know? That fragment of your soul came at a price._

X was silent as the pillar of fire drifted ever closer, uncomfortably hot.

_Soon you'll have friends. Two of them. My avatar brought you to me, now he brings me more._

"More?"

The scene changed, they were now in the Nether hub. Climbing out of iTrade's portal were two figures, Iskall and Python.

_They're coming to get you. How sweet._

"Oh no."

* * *

Stepping through the portal, Iskall and Python could both feel something wrong. The heat was more oppressive than usual. Iskall could feel himself overheating faster than normal, and Python, usually comfortable in the Nether, was starting to overheat as well. They had to finish this quickly.

Iskall looked up at the red moon ceiling of the hub. "First things first, we need to know where he was coming from."

"Impulse mentioned he met X at X's base hours before he died, but I don't know if he stayed after Impulse left."

"He slept right before as well; I'd noticed he'd woken up just before 3 in the morning."

"So you're saying he left from his base?" Python asked.

Iskall nodded. "It would seem so."

Python was muttering about ghasts in an enclosed tunnel when they flew up to the upper layer of the hub. Walking down the eastern tunnel they found, much to their shock, a tunnel enclosed no more.

The roof of the tunnel was completely destroyed and most of the walls were missing. A small troop of pigmen had spawned and were currently checking out the two hermits.

A ghast cry echoed through the cavern and Iskall's bow lept into his hand almost of its own accord, causing the pigmen to jump in alarm. Python nudged his friend's arm.

"He was probably going for the main hub, he can't be far. Let's get him before you risk your life against a ghast."

Iskall, still watching the skies, absentmindedly replied, "You look for him, I'll keep an eye out for this stupid ghast."

Python, seeing nothing but pigmen in the ruins of the tunnel, went to the edge. Maybe the ghost had blasted him away from the tunnel. As he peered into the red haze, a white shape floated up mere feet from him. Before he could react, an arrow sang over him and obliterated the ghast. A bit shaken, he muttered a quick thanks to Iskall and continued searching.

It wasn't long before a green shape caught his eye.

* * *

Impulse's eyes flickered back and forth between the world data and his communicator, waiting, hoping for some update from the two Strikers. At the same time, he worried about the status of the Nether. It was changing, and not in an encouraging way.

A buzz alerted him to a message from Python; they had found X's body.

Almost simultaneously, the Nether's data went crazy. Impulse frantically tried to decipher what was happening; it took a few seconds for it to become clear.

Something was messing with the Nether portals. And that meant...

_[ImpulseSV] Iskall, Pythn, run_

* * *

Back in the Nether, Iskall had just gotten X's body back up to the demolished tunnel, Python keeping a lookout. Exhausted, he let X drop to the floor. Iskall knew what the signs for heat exhaustion were, he experienced them often in the Nether. But never had it set in so quickly. He had to get out of the Nether as soon as possible or risk heat stroke.

Python, upon seeing his friend in such distress, almost missed the message that came through.

_[ImpulseSV] Iskall, Pythn, run_

The two looked at each other, then ran. With the urgency of Impulse's message, X's body lay forgotten. The nearest portal was to X's base and they beelined for it, Iskall starting to lag behind as the heat exhaustion started to take it's toll.

About twenty feet from the portal, Python lost his footing and stumbled over the edge. Caught off guard, he never had a chance to activate his elytra. His fall lasted an eternity and a second, only stopped by a vise grip on his arm. Looking up, he saw a pale face locked in furious concentration as Iskall slowly hauled him up.

Once safely on stable ground, it was Iskall's turn to stumble. Still locking arms, Python dragged him towards the portal.

Suddenly, he stopped. Iskall, now half-leaning on Python at this point, managed to look at what caused his friend to stop.

The portal was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now we get serious...


	5. Ice Cannot Last

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is it hot in here, or is it just me?

Impulse stared at the world data as the Nether disconnected from the overworld, two hermits still trapped inside. He tried sending them a message, but it failed to go through. Now Impulse was confused more than anything; both Iskall and Python showed on the world population list, he should be able to send a message to them. One could even send messages to people in other worlds; it just took awhile.

But never had he seen it just...fail.

He vaguely heard rockets overhead as someone deftly slid into the room. False grabbed his shoulder to steady herself, narrowly avoiding a collision.

"Impulse? What's going on?" she asked, watching the data shift.

Impulse took one last look at the world data, wanting desperately to not voice his dread. But he could not avoid reality.

"The Nether's closed off."

Their eyes met; her disbelief, his exhaustion.

"Are they still in there?"

"I wish I could say no, but..." Impulse gestured helplessly.

And for the first time in years, False was speechless.

* * *

Back in the Nether, Iskall was becoming more and more limp. Python, unable to support the full weight of the man, gently rested him against the wall. His friend's breathing was already alarmingly shallow; Python didn't know what to do.

It seemed Iskall did, as he placed down an ender chest and started to weakly go through it. He managed to pull out a light blue shulker box, but that was as far as he got before he collapsed completely. Python, upon opening it, discovered it was an emergency kit; filled with golden carrots, rockets, spare elytra, and blocks of packed ice. Seeing the packed ice, Python knew what Iskall was trying to do.

Pulling out a stack of the ice, he went to work surrounding them both in a cube before giving Iskall a block to hold. Almost immediately the temperature within the box started cooling, but Python was afraid he was too late; the Swede had already fallen unconscious.

It was then he noticed the ice beginning to melt.

* * *

_How quaint. They think a little ice will stop me?_

The column of fire stood at the edge of the ruined tunnel watching the two figures; one frantic, the other unmoving. Xisuma could only watch on in horror.

_One is close, the other not far behind. Soon they shall join you._

X was unable to move, every fiber of his being screamed to do something, if only to just get away. But he could do nothing to stop the Nether from burning his friends alive. Even worse, they were there because of him.

_Aw hell, where's the fun in that? They'll never leave, anyway._

A new wave of dread swept over X as he watched the pigmen converge on the icy shelter that kept two desperate hermits alive.

* * *

Tango was agitated. More than that, he was furious, enraged. He never agreed to this; the initial pact or this current "test". Or any of it, really. Two of his friends were dead with two more not far behind, and this pillar of bastard was to blame. Raging around his base, he didn't notice all the fires he was inadvertently setting for quite a while. When he did, he forced himself to calm down. Anger would do no good without a direction, a purpose.

Interestingly enough, Tango felt he could do something about it, he just needed some help; yet from who, he didn't quite know.

So he directed that anger towards this problem, who could help him. Many of the hermits were magical, but most didn't have what he was looking for. What was he looking for? Something Grian had said earlier had stuck with him: _So this is what she meant?_ What did he mean by that? Tango was so preoccupied he didn't hear someone gliding into his base.

"Tango, you ok my dude? I saw smoke and was afraid it was getting a bit toasty in here."

Tango snapped out of his thoughts to find Ren looking concerned.

"Oh! No, it's nothing to worry about. Heat never bothered me, but..." He looked at the scorch marks in the grass. "I may have gotten a bit heated."

"A bit heated? This looks more than a bit. Anyway, just making sure everything's ok over here. If you need me, give a holler." As Ren turned to leave, Tango stopped him.

"Wait. I'm going to see Impulse, I think I know what I need to do." As Ren turned back, Tango asked, "You want to come with? The more heads the better."

* * *

To say Python was worried was an understatement. It took him almost an hour to calm himself down; when he did, he noticed two things. One, Iskall's breathing had deepened and he was no longer deathly pale. Second, the slowly thinning walls of ice had refrozen not long ago; the Nether's temperature had dropped. Even though they were still stuck in the Nether, Python could start to feel hope. As long as the two of them survived, their friends would find a way to get them out.

Now that Iskall's condition seemed to have stabilized, Python wanted to scout out a more permanent place to wait things out. However, as soon as he broke one of the ice blocks, a golden sword came whizzing inches past his face. Slamming the block back in place, Python had to take a minute to calm down. So there was a small horde of pigmen waiting for them just outside. But what was confusing was the fact that neither Iskall nor Python had provoked them in any way. At least, none that he could think of.

A small groan and the sound of movement behind him caused Python to turn around. When he saw Iskall struggling to sit up, he almost burst into tears of relief.

"Python? What happened? I remember the portal was out and—" Iskall was interrupted as Python tackled him in an iron grip of a hug. A squeak escaped him as the hug threatened to make him pass out again. Python heard it and quickly lessened the pressure, though he didn't let go for a few more seconds.

"Missed me, did you?"

"You have no idea, man! I was worried you were going to die! You can't do that again!"

"Yeah, sorry about that. It's just...the Nether and I never really got along very well." Iskall absentmindedly picked up the ice block he had held when he was unconscious. "If I stay in the Nether too long, I start to overheat; thus the packed ice."

"Well, you think you're ready for a fight?" Python asked as he stood up.

"A fight? Why?"

"Remember all those pigmen we saw earlier?" Iskall nodded. "Well, they're after us for whatever reason."

As Iskall got up, he had to grab Python to steady himself. "Why would they be after us?"

"I don't know. Are you sure you're ready for a fight?"

"Not really, but do I have a choice?"

* * *

False had left a few hours ago, leaving Impulse alone; she was needed elsewhere. So, completely alone, Impulse started to doubt himself. He had tried everything X had shown him before; resetting chunks, manually teleporting into the Nether, even just relighting the portals. Nothing worked. He couldn't understand how X could deal with things like this.

He heard a knock and turned to see Ren and Tango walking into the room. Impulse almost said something, but the look on Tango's face told him this was important.

"Impulse. I know what I need to do. But I need your help."

"My help?" Impulse asked. "What can I do?"

Tango paused, unsure of how to continue. "I need help finding specific people, but I don't know who."

Impulse was, understandably, confused. "And how can I help?"

"The same way Ren can; another head to bounce ideas off of. Besides, it has to do with the Nether problem."

That got Impulse's attention. He looked for Ren—who had stayed silent so far—to Tango. "We should probably find a better place then. X's base is a little depressing, all things considered."

Ren spoke up. "We can go to my base then."

* * *

At his base, Ren led them to a cozy room behind his storage area, or what would soon be. The three of them settled down. Or, at least two did; Impulse started pacing.

Ren, settling into a corner, asked, "So where do we start?"

"I think..." Tango, sitting in a chair, took a moment to gather his thoughts. "Four. We need four hermits, one for each cardinal direction. For each of the four elements."

"So...where do we start?"

"With me. I'm fire, I know that much. So we need to find hermits that match earth, air, and water."

Impulse had stopped pacing to say, "You sure?"

Tango sighed. "I'm not sure how, but yes."

"Do you have any other hunches?"

"Grian."

Tango looked up to find Impulse looking baffled. "And you said you need my help?"

Tango ran his fingers through his hair. "Those were the easy ones. The other two I have no idea."

Ren interjected, "Wait, how do you know it's Grian?"

Both Tango and Impulse looked at him. "He has wings, Ren. Real ones. And he's eons better than anyone else at flying," Tango answered. "Seems like air to me."

Ren nodded. "So we just need to find people who have something to do with water or earth?"

"It's the best I have."

* * *

It wasn't their best fighting, but Iskall and Python survived the pigman onslaught with superficial wounds. Now that the Nether was at a more manageable temperature, Iskall was no longer at immediate risk for heatstroke; they could safely search for a temporary safe location to wait this out. Python gathered up everything he found of value while Iskall hoisted Xisuma's body over his shoulder.

Taking to the air, the two scouted for an ideal location, taking frequent breaks to stave off heat exhaustion. After almost an hour and a few close calls, they found an adequate cave and started setting up their temporary base. Iskall, now utterly exhausted, passed out as soon as they were done, alarming Python. After checking on his friend, Python checked the spawn proofing of the cave one last time before settling down himself. Gazing at a block of packed ice, he wondered how long they would be stuck in the Nether. It wasn't long before he fell asleep as well.

* * *

Figuring out the other two hermits Tango needed was harder than they anticipated. Perhaps emboldened by how quickly the first two were identified, Ren and Impulse spent the next hour bouncing ideas around only for Tango to dismiss them. Until...

"Guys, what about Stress?" Both Tango and Impulse looked at Ren, who continued, "I know we've already discussed her, but the more I think about it the more plausible it is"

"What makes you say that?" asked Tango, intrigued.

"You ever wonder how she gets blue ice so fast?"

"I just assumed she used the ice farm Iskall build for her to use," said Impulse.

"Well, yes, but—she doesn't craft it," Ren explained. "She creates it. She showed me. She turned one block of packed ice into blue ice."

"How the— What!?"

Ren looked at Tango. "Is that water enough for you?"

Tango, staring at nothing, said, "It's the closest we've got. Alright, Stress is water. Now we just need to find earth."

"Scar. His terraforming skills could be—"

Tango cut Impulse off. "No, he already has the Vex."

"Oh. _That_ makes sense," said Impulse, a bit miffed.

The three of them settled into a contemplative, edged silence. As the minutes passed, the nervous energy increased, to the point where they all jumped when someone entered the room. Standing in the doorway was, unexpectedly, TFC.

"So, you boys looking for me?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things may be starting to pick up! ;)
> 
> cephelanthus, thanks for the lovely review <3 Hopefully this chapter allays your worries a bit :D


	6. Connections and Diversions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ever had an itch you couldn't scratch?

It was a crisp, bright day. Stress was out on her castle wall, gazing south. Visibility was good enough she could swear a hint of green was just noticeable. Usually seeing the shared lab brought her joy— as did the man she shared it with— but now it just worried her. She knew Iskall's role was demanding and he handled it well, but she also knew his track record with the Nether all too well. Thinking of Iskall made her think of Python, also trapped in the oppressive hell-scape. As far as Stress knew, no one spent more than a day straight in the Nether, with good reason. Well, except Tango, but he was an exception.

Stress looked at her hands. They were always edged with frost, but lately they'd been feeling itchy. It was uncomfortable and persistent; the only thing she found to soothe the itch was to make ice, so whenever it got unbearable, that's what she did. So far she had made almost two shulker boxes worth of packed ice made straight from water, and it scared her. Making packed ice straight from water was exhausting. Or, at least, it used to be.

Lately, Stress was full of nervous energy to the point where she couldn't sleep. Tonight the phantoms would start spawning, and if she wasn't careful, she would join Xisuma and Cub. She absentmindedly scratched her hands.

Barking echoed behind her, getting louder. Three of her samoyeds, followed by two huskies, turned the corner and blazed past her before disappearing out of sight. Brought back to the present, Stress sighed. Everything would be fine in the end. It had to be. Besides, wings of the castle were still unfinished, and that she could do something about.

Oh, how her hands _itched._

* * *

Grian loved flying. He had loved it before, with the elytra, and he'd gotten ridiculously good at it. But with wings? It was a whole new world! There was so much more control, so much more finesse. One of the first things he did once he was used to them was the elytra course. Unsurprisingly, he crushed it.

But as the days wore on, from all the news surrounding the Nether, Grian started to feel agitated. He tried to keep his hands busy working on his base, the Infinity Room, anything. But inevitably, he would find himself in the air, flying aimlessly over the main island and beyond.

He had so much restless energy he had gotten little sleep over the past few days, little enough he was worried about phantoms. And since he was in the air at seemingly every opportunity, it was only a matter of time before one caught up with him.

Why did his wings _itch_ so much?

* * *

Staring at TFC, Impulse was the first to recover. "Are we looking for you?"

TCF gave a snort of laughter. "Well, I certainly was looking for you. Do you know how long that took? I assumed you were at Xisuma's base, so I took the rail system there." He nodded at Ren. "Fantastic system, by the way, even if it's not fully functional. But I didn't find you there. So I had to travel back. I don't think you understand how long it takes to travel on foot." Seeing the others' faces, TFC laughed. "Not that it matters, I got here eventually. Though I was a bit surprised to find you in Ren's base."

"How did you know to look here?" Impulse asked.

"I was going towards Tango's base first hoping to catch you there, but—" TFC looked at Tango. "—I could tell you were here."

Tango was confused. "Why would you be looking for me?"

The change in TFC's demeanor was subtle, but if the others somehow missed it, the change in his voice was unmistakable; softer, yet no less gruff. "Because we're the last piece to your puzzle. I am Earth, and this is my avatar."

* * *

False was trying to find Impulse. So far he'd not been at his base, so she was headed toward the next best location. Landing in Xisuma's base, she could tell it was empty. Where was Impulse? _Probably tending to something else, he doesn't live in X's base, False._ Nevertheless, she headed to the admin room; maybe he left her a note saying where he'd gone.

Entering the room, she scanned the monitors. There wasn't much of it she understood, but there was one thing she did; the red dot of an unauthorized spawn. Somehow, while everyone was distracted by the Nether, an intruder had slipped in. While her two flankers were preoccupied elsewhere.

_Think, False, think!_ There wasn't much she could do about the Nether situation, but this was right up her alley. With her tracker currently unavailable, she had to fall on her backup.

Now finally with a clear purpose, False left X's base and flew west. A gliding silhouette greeted her as she neared her destination; Grian absentmindedly riding the thermals. False got his attention and followed him as he dived into his base.

Once on the floor, Grian asked, "So, what do you need? Is it the Nether again?"

"No, I need your help finding someone. An intrusion has been detected and I need to deal with it as soon as possible."

"My help? Don't you usually— oh. Right."

False sighed. "Sorry. Until this Nether problem's solved, I need you to do Iskall's job since you are quite good at finding people."

"No, no! It's no problem at all! I just hope you don't expect me to fight, as that's not exactly my strong suit."

"Oh don't worry. With our third party member, you won't be able to fight even if you wanted to."

With that, False sent out a message:

_[falsesymmetry to: Biffa2001] You busy?_

_[Biffa2001 to: falsesymmetry] nothing that can't be interrupted_

_[flasesymmetry to: Biffa2001] Meet outside of iTrade?_

_[Biffa2001 to: falsesymmetry] o/_

False turned to Grian, who was waiting expectantly. "Well, time to go to the shopping district."

* * *

As Grian and False landed in front of iTrade, they could see Biffa flying in from the east. As he landed, he didn't waste time on pleasantries.

"Who do you need dead? I'm ready."

Grian smothered a laugh as False sighed.

"Well, you're straight to the point. You don't even know if that's why I called you here."

"Why else would you need me? Unless you need something built? A cup of tea? Hm?"

False gave a small laugh. "Fine, you're right. A hopper has managed to slip in and I need you in case they're hostile."

Biffa lit up. "Finally! Is this Nether business what it takes for me to get in on the action?"

"Biffa, you've been 'in on the action'. Anyway, we shouldn't waste time. Stay close, you two."

False took to the air, with Biffa and Grian close behind.

* * *

"Wait, what?"

In a deathly silent room, Impulse was the first to speak. TFC— Earth? turned to him, scrutinizing every inch of the man.

"All right, I have some explaining to do. But that's for a later time, as time is something you don't have much of. For now, you have to stop Fire before he commits a grave mistake."

"Wait, was I right? About the other avatars?" asked Tango. "Stress and Grian?"

"Yes, wasn't it obvious? It was about time Air committed." Earth looked at Tango, concerned. "You must find them both before you confront your Element, and quickly."

"What happens if we don't stop him in time?"

But the man they were talking to was TFC once again.

"Sorry, he's cryptic like that. I don't know any more than you do." He gave a short laugh. "Anyway, good luck finding the others; I'll only slow you down. I'll be in my bunker when you need me."

* * *

Python was getting tired of the Nether. No matter what he and Iskall tried, no progress was made; he was starting to think they were well and truly stuck. Normally that would be fine, as he knew people who had survived in the Nether for weeks on end; but that was with proper preparation. Between the fluctuating heat and their dwindling water, the two Strikers were woefully unprepared.

Speaking of the heat, the temperature had risen again, to the point where it was dangerous for Python and downright deadly for Iskall. With the strangely hostile pigmen, they were content to stay in their cave anyway. Or, at least Python was.

He watched helplessly as Iskall became increasingly agitated as the two of them tried to work through their situation. When trying to create a new portal had failed, he'd injured his foot kicking it. He'd almost broken his flint and steel trying to relight portals, only stopping because one blew up, almost killing him.

The only thing Python could think to do was to keep Iskall confined to the cave. Being surrounded by the ice seemed to help cool his temperament as well as the air, but there was only so much of this confinement that either of them could take.

Hearing feverish muttering, Python turned to where Iskall was sitting. Something seemed to be wrong with his left eye, he was scratching at it, as if something was wrong.

Something was wrong; Iskall's eye was itchy as hell, to the point where he wanted to take the damn thing out. Every time he went to rip it out, something stopped him. But nothing was stopping the itching, the damn itching, get it out _get it out_—

"Iskall?"

He looked up to see Python incredibly concerned, so much so he momentarily forgot about the itch.

"What?"

"You okay?"

"No."

Silence, then; "You want to talk about it?"

"...it's my eye. It's bad enough we're stuck here for the time being, but the dang thing won't stop itching. It's driving me crazy, dude!"

"Has it done this before? I remember when I had a similar eyepiece, it would get irritated sometimes. Glad I got rid of it."

"No, that's the thing. It hasn't done this before." Muttering half to himself, Iskall continued, "And what does—" Diamond? He looked at Python. "You're not wearing your gear, are you? But you have your tools."

"Uh, yeah. It was getting a bit cumbersome, so I took it off. You could tell?"

"Yeah, that's part of what this thing does." Iskall paused, mind miles away. "I need to think." For him, the best way to think was to sleep; so that's precisely what he did.

* * *

Not far under the gardens of the Stock Exchange, Doc was working on his HRN station. He was working on a vending machine; something he'd wanted to put in for a while. Now that the war was over, he could finally return fully to his own projects. He felt he should be glad to work undistracted, but frustrations were mounting.

It was a simple circuit for him to work with, but novice mistakes were constantly popping up. Timings were off, a repeater would lock, a comparator would be wrongly set. He could tell from the flow of the redstone what was wrong and where, but with every fixed mistake another would pop up.

And his arm. What was up with his arm? Every time Doc stopped working, the metallic arm felt as if it was full of electricity; he was not sure how to describe it. He'd taken it apart more than once to check the wiring, the circuits, anything he could see for a hint as to what was wrong. As far as he could tell, everything was on order; from the redstone tubing to the circuitry. But every once and a while he would find himself scratching at it. An itch, that was it. His arm itched.

Between his arm and the vending machine circuit, Doc had not gotten much sleep. The constant flow of the red dust through its own tubing gave him the energy to work, so he wasn't worried. However, there was one night terror he would do well to remember, and tonight it would start spawning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whenever you get the chance, always split the party. Nothing bad will ever happen.
> 
> PureSpirit; Woo! High praises!! :D
> 
> cephelanthus; Iskall and Python will be fine as long as ~someone~ doesn't do anything silly. As for X, just imagine him being an absolute nuisance. ;)
> 
> Deadly_Nighshae; I imagine his skin plays a lot into the fire motif. As for the OP thing, I'm keeping it simple— and more dramatic— with only one admin and two OPs. Thanks for pointing that out though! :D


	7. It's All a Race Against Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'pologies for the delay, college is a pain.
> 
> For the one part, (you'll know the one) these symbols denote who is speaking:  
// is Earth  
\-- is Air  
\\\ is Water

High above a little explored area far from the main island, False and Biffa glided toward the target location as Grian silently flew low to the ground. Without the need for noisy rockets, he could ghost over the treetops with nary a sound, keeping an eye out for anything out of place. Earlier, Grian had noticed he'd gained— along with his wings— better hearing and low-light vision; both of which helped him spot something amidst the foliage. Rolling over midair, he used the light undersides of his wings to flash a signal to the two Strikers flying above.

The three hermits landed in the treetops not far from where Grian spotted their target. He noted, amused, that Biffa had one of his axes already drawn. False had noticed this as well, and beckoned them both closer.

"Alright, it seems they've only gotten iron gear, so it's safe to say they haven't been here long," False whispered. "First order of business is to find their spawn. Grian? You up for the task?"

Grian looked at her, confused. "Shouldn't we see if they're hostile or not?"

False stared back. "No. If a fight breaks out, they die, then respawn, we will have to find them all over again. And they will know we're looking for them. So, you up for the task?"

"Uh, yeah. I can do that." Truth be told, Grian only agreed because he was worried Biffa would lose his patience and attack. So the winged man took off once more, now with a new target, leaving False and Biffa behind.

False looked at her frontline attacker, coiled up to strike, and said, "Remember, do not attack unless I signal it."

Biffa just glanced at her, making her a bit worried.

"Biffa."

"Right, right. I hear you. Wait for the signal."

That was the best she was going to get. So, making their way to the forest floor, False took point. When a flash of iron against the setting sun caught her attention, she signaled to Biffa to come up from behind; a flanking move, but one he should understand nonetheless. He wasn't as quiet as either flanker, but he was smart enough to time his movements with the sounds around him.

Now that Biffa was on his way, False made her presence known. Instantly, the intruder— a woman from what she could tell— pulled out a bow and leveled an arrow at False, who raised her hands in a peace gesture.

"I'm not sure if you noticed," False said, "but this world is taken."

The woman scoffed. "Yeah, by me. You best move on."

False was taken aback by this. "I'm sorry, I'm not sure I heard you correctly." She pulled her diamond sword out. "But I'm sure it's best if you move on."

The woman smirked. "Oh, you want to fight? You and what army?"

It was then False noticed the woman was looking behind her.

* * *

Back in Ren's base, Impulse was trying to contact Grian. Tango's message to Stress had gone through and she was on her way, but Grian wasn't answering and Impulse wasn't sure what to do.

"Tango?" he asked.

"Hm?"

"What happens if there are only three of you?"

That caught Tango's attention. "What do you mean?! Is he not answering?"

"No, but it's only been a few minutes." Impulse said.

"It's been more than ten! He should have noticed it by now!"

"It is getting late, maybe he—"

Impulse was interrupted by something hitting the floor. He and Tango turned to look at Ren, who'd knocked over a chair in his haste getting up.

"Ren? Something wrong?" asked Tango, uneasily. The look in Ren's eye was wild to say the least. His head snapped up at the sound of Tango's voice.

"Uh, yeah. Just gotta get out for a bit. Got really agitated— don't know why. See you." With that, Ren was out of the room.

"Agitated, huh? Hope it passes quickly," Impulse said.

Tango sighed. "I know how he feels. The past few days I've been on edge. Even accidentally set part of my base on fire before we came to see you."

Impulse started to say something, but was yet again interrupted, this time by Stress popping her head into the room.

"Oh! There you are. Took a while to find you in Ren's maze of a base. I tried to come as fast as possible, to avoid the _stupid_ phantoms trying to eat me."

"Phantoms? Stress, when was the last time you slept?" Impulse asked.

"A few days ago, I've been too amped up lately. That's also when the itch started." She looked a little uneasy. "That's weird now that I think about it."

Tango looked pale. "An itch?"

* * *

/This whole thing is an absolute mess./

-Really? I believe they have a chance to get through this.-

/Says the one who entered at the last minute. You really threaded the needle there, finally choosing an avatar./

-You know I'm not one to rush into things, Earth! A delicate balance existed before Fire started his antics, only now can I step in.-

/If you had stepped in before, this might not have happened./

-You don't know that!-

\Is this what you dragged me here for? You two bickering? All this arguing affects our chosen, and they have enough to worry about as is. And Air, you waited even longer than I did.\

-Well, I'm sorry, Water, for waiting before I drastically alter someone's life....what do you mean, 'affected'?-

\You haven't noticed? Of course not.\

"Why was I dragged to this meeting? Nothing's getting done except finger-pointing."

/I cannot leave you, remember?/

"Yeah, well, this was pointless, so I'm taking you with me."

/Wait—/

* * *

In an instant, False was aware of two things; a presence behind her, and Biffa in the exact same position across the way.

So these people were hostile. Upside, Biffa wouldn't leave disappointed. Downside, now she couldn't tell Grian to destroy their beds. She couldn't even know if he'd found them. Things were getting interesting.

The woman looked at her with false concern. "What's the matter? don't think you can handle it? Going to go cry to mommy, hmm?"

"No, I'm just wondering why you haven't attacked yet." False felt a buzz from her communicator.

"I'm giving you the chance to leave and find your own world."

"Oh, that's a kind offer, but I'm afraid I can't take it." Another buzz.

"Fine." The woman gave a nod, and False could feel a blade prick the back of her neck. Fortunately for her, Biffa's response to her own signal was decidedly more violent.

In an instant, he was hacking his way through the woman's defenses and False was hardpressed to defend herself as well. Trading blows with the man behind her, she quickly broke down his fighting style. He was taking full advantage of his longsword, keeping her at a range her shorter blade lacked in. Nothing a bit of deft footwork couldn't change. False heard a sickening crunch from her left, signaling the end of Biffa's fight.

A parry and an overhand backhand sent the man's items flying, scattered by the intensity of the blow.

With both threats down, False was able to check her comms.

_[Grian to: falsesymmetry, Biffa2001] I've found the beds. What do?_

_[Biffa2001 to: falsesymmetry, Grian] take em out_

...

_[Grian to: falsesymmetry, Biffa2001] theres another theres another_

False looked up at Biffa, who had read the same message. Launching themselves into the sky, they were greeted by the last fleeting rays of the sun. Getting back to Grian had become a race against time.

* * *

Impulse was on his way back to Xisuma's base. At this point, he'd spent little time elsewhere; keeping the world sufficiently monitored was more time consuming than he'd expected. On the flight over, he and False had had a short but fervent conversation.

_[falsesymmetry to: ImpulseSV] Grian's with me, needed him for something._

_[ImpulseSV to: falsesymmetry] Did something happen?_

_[falsesymmetry to: ImpulseSV] Intruders, but we're taking care of it._

_[ImpulseSV to: falsesymmetry] When you're done, sent him to Tango's base_

_[falsesymmetry to: ImpulseSV] Will do._

Flying into X's base, he almost missed a strange build in the dimming light. Impulse was not keen on approaching the build, all too aware of any deathly possibilities, but he was compelled to.

It was an altar, that much was clear. Shaped like a compass rose, each point had a symbol embossed on the surface. Water to the north, air to the east, fire to the south, and earth to the west. The Four Cardinal Directions, the Four Elements.

Four of his friends.

Impulse shook himself out of the daze. This could wait, it was fairly obvious what it would be for. 

He headed for the control room, the deep ache in his body keeping him aware of the late hour. He never should have left. Between now and the time he'd left for Ren's base a few hours ago, an intruder had wormed their way in. He was grateful for False's swift reaction to the problem; if she had waited for him, it would have been much more difficult to deal with. Especially down two Strikers.

Thrown off by his exhaustion, Impulse was violently reminded of the two hermits trapped in the Nether. Utterly frustrated and overwhelmed, he started crying. Tango had said he was livid with what was happening, and Impulse was starting to feel the same way.

Take a deep breath. Calm down. He could not fall apart; a plan was in place. Tomorrow, Tango would do what he needed to do, and everything would go back to normal. Hopefully.

Now calmer, Impulse walked to the middle of X's base, the dying light making the altar more sinister than he thought necessary. He took off, heading towards his own base. In less than a day's time, he would be back here and it would all be over, one way or another.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PureSpirit; Someone's paying attention, maybe this chapter will answer some questions ;)
> 
> Argetaie; We'll just have to wait and see, won't we?
> 
> Thanks for reading, and here's to less than a month 'til the next update!


	8. Two Minutes to Midnight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Bad Decisions inbound

Biffa was living. The rush of battle was one he'd missed, even if he had felt it not that long ago. It was too long, in his opinion. He never thought it was fair that Python and especially Iskall got to face world hoppers. But at the same time, he trusted False's judgment enough to follow her direction. The thrill of the fights she did leave to him were well worth it.

In his anticipation for the next skirmish, he almost missed False's signal, pointing him to where their target was.

Landing in the torch-lit clearing, Biffa took in two things: Grian was alive, if a bit worse for wear; and his assailant had their back exposed. Swiftly crossing the clearing, he laid into the intruder, leaving a deep rent in their back. Biffa was a bit surprised they didn't drop, and followed through with a vicious blow to the head. That did the trick.

"Grian." False had also crossed the clearing to check on the builder. "Are you badly hurt?"

"Nothing that's too serious. I'd managed to avoid most of it," Grian said, checking himself over. Sure enough, he had a cut on his left arm and a nasty bruise developing on one cheek.

False gingerly brushed the bruise. "You took a head blow," she said. "A visit to Joe, if he's still awake, would be a good idea. When you're done with that, Impulse wants you to go to Tango's base."

"Tango's base? Did he say why?"

"He did not. I'm sure you'll find out when you get there."

Biffa interrupted them. "It's gotten dark. Mobs will start spawning, and I don't want to be here when they do."

False looked at him, amused. "You had no problem fighting just now."

"Yes, against a limited foe." Biffa looked her in the eye. "I remember the dangers of a hardcore world, mobs being the biggest one." He knew she did too. She nodded and wordlessly took to the skies, leaving Grian and Biffa to follow.

* * *

"Well, I would advise you from doing anything too ridiculous, but I've heard what you have to do tomorrow. Ridiculous definitely, even a bit cliché." Joe looked at Grian, then at Cub. "Then again, we can't have Concorp at half capacity, can we? Besides, I do want to see this for myself, seems delightfully absurd."

Grian looked a little confused, though it may have been the head injury. "What about Xisuma?"

Joe raised one eyebrow. Confused enough to say X's name more-or-less right. "Right! Can't forget about him. Anyway, I'm sure you're needed elsewhere to restore balance to the scales," he said as he herded Grian out of the Ministry. "Thanks for stopping by, Grian. It can get lonely with only the undead and the actual dead as company."

"Is Cleo the only one visiting? Shouldn't you get out more?"

"I understand your concern, but— while I'm no Scar— I'm no stranger to death. I'd rather stay in relative safety until I can risk being surprised by a creeper again."

Watching Grian go, Joe's thoughts wandered to a certain person intimately linked to death. He would have to see if Cleo was interested in watching what would unfold. And, Joe admitted, he would be too scared to do so alone.

* * *

There was only so much of the Nether that Python was willing to take at one time, and he felt he was getting mighty close to that limit. He'd already spent quite a bit of time gathering quartz for his ambitious builds in Tower Bay over the last few months.

Gathering quartz turned out to be the distraction he and Iskall set out for themselves. Keeping a watch on the temperature, they were able to ignore the frustration and unease with their situation. A careful trip to the gold farm kept their gear and tools in top shape. Food was not yet a concern, water was managed through the careful melting of ice.

The pigmen turned out to be less of a threat than the two thought; the hostiles still swarmed on sight, but always seemed to get distracted long enough for Iskall and Python to make a hasty escape.

So they mined quartz. Hours passed, with rests intermittent, before they found another problem. 

Iskall was in front of the array of double chests, laden with quartz, trying to find space for the latest haul. He wasn't finding any. Rubbing his left eye, he walked to his ender chest and started looking for some wood. Which he didn't find. He looked at Python, also rummaging around his ender chest. "Python?" he asked.

"Hm?"

"You have any wood, by chance? I'm all out, and I need some for more chests."

Python's rummaging increased, shulker boxes opening and closing, before he said, "No, sorry man. I'm out as well."

"Dang it! I guess I'll be carrying around a bunch of quartz."

"You don't have any empty shulker boxes, or any empty spaces, at least?"

__

Iskall scanned his ender chest again. "Well, there's a bit of space, but still not enough. Ah, that's fine, at least I have _some_ inventory space now," he said as he put the now full shulker box into his ender chest. 

__

"If you're up for it, we should take one last trip to the gold farm," Python said. "Some of my gear's running low."

__

Iskall, feeling a headache coming on, said the wrong thing. "Yeah, I'm up for it."

__

* * *

__

Tango spent almost an hour, pacing his base, listening for the rockets that would signal Grian's approach. Since he and Impulse learned where the winged man was, they were on edge; even more than they already were. It wasn't until Grian landed in front of him with nary a whisper, startling him to the high heavens, that Tango remembered. 

__

"Grian! You can't do that to me, man! Give a hoot or something, you about gave me a heart attack!"

__

"Sorry about that; I forget how silently I fly now," Grian said sheepishly.

__

"It certainly woke me up." Tango was about to brief Grian, but he saw the colorful bruise Grian was sporting. "Oh, ow. That looks like it hurts. Didn't get out of the skirmish unscathed, huh?"

__

Grian poked at the bruise, wincing. "No, but frankly, I'm lucky it's not worse. By the way, what are we doing? It has something to do with the Nether, I hope?"

__

At this, Tango was all business. "Yes. The thing we need is at X's base, coincidentally. Stress and TFC are already there."

__

"What's going to happen?"

__

"Honestly? I have no idea. I'm just going with the flow here, man." Tango was very unsure of himself, but continued, "When it gets down to it, I'll know."

__

As they look to the skies, Grian looked unconvinced.

__

* * *

__

If anyone was near the stock exchange, they would have heard shouting. A lot of it. As it happened, "anyone" turned out to be Mumbo, heading to the shopping district for some last-minute supplies.

__

He stuck his head into the station and, in between the bursts of surprisingly expletive-free fury, said, "Doc? You ok in here?"

__

A pause, a concerning crash, and Doc huffed his way into view. "Everything's fine."

__

Mumbo didn't take his hint and came closer, hopping the turnstile easily. "It doesn't sound like it. Besides, I asked if _you_ were ok, and you didn't answer."

__

If looks could kill, the redstone contraption in the corner would have exploded. Mumbo briefly wondered if, with a few tweaks, Doc's eye could produce that effect. Or something similar. But it didn't, and the redstone build stayed in one piece. Doc sighed and walked over to an overturned shulker box spilling comparators, droppers, and other redstone bits and bobs over the floor.

__

As he shoved all the items back in the shulker box, he said, "Something is going on. Something's happening to _me_." He pointed at the build in the corner. "You know what that's supposed to be?"

__

Mumbo walked over to it and inspected the innards of it. Not even half a minute had passed before he answered, "I would think it would produce a sort of vending machine effect. Is that what you were going for?"

__

"Yes! It's supposed to dispense one stack of ender pearls or cookies when a diamond is deposited, but something is always wrong. Either the wrong item is dispensed, the wrong amount is, nothing happens; I know what's wrong each time. I fix it each time. But something else always pops up!" After a pause, Doc said, "I don't know what to do, and I'm at my wit's end here."

__

Now that Mumbo knew what Doc was trying to achieve, it took him all of a minute to find and fix the problem. He went back in front and said, "Try it now."

__

Doc put a diamond in the input chest and pressed the ender pearl button. He then stared at Mumbo in resignation as sixteen ender pearls hit him in the chest one by one.

__

"I guess it works now."

__

Doc kept staring at him. "What was it?"

__

"The timing of one repeater was off, giving only a partial stack," Mumbo answered, a bit concerned.

__

Doc placed a hand on the vending machine, lights flickering on his cybernetics. "I don't understand. Every time I fixed the timings..."

__

"Well, it's all working now. Really neat design, by the way."

__

"Heh. Thanks. Are you going to the event happening soon?"

__

"Yeah," Mumbo said, "I have to really see this stuff to believe it; this whole Elemental thing. I would say it's exciting, but..." He stopped. "Anyway, are you going?"

__

"No. I've got a bad feeling about it. Besides, I have," Doc looked down the tunnel, "other things to do."

__

"Well, good luck with those. Hopefully, they're not as stubborn as the vending machine," Mumbo said as he prepared to leave. "I'll see you around, mate."

__

As he left, he saw a curious scene: Doc, standing in the middle of the rail line, didn't seem to hear him. Staring down the tunnel, he was muttering and scratching his right arm. Mumbo didn't know what to make of it, and so took his leave.

__

Shopping driven from his mind, he had somewhere to be.

__

_"Something's happening to me."_

__

* * *

__

Getting to the gold farm was never as bad as getting back from it. Every hermit had forgotten to reequip their elytra at least once, some more than others.

__

Knowing this, Iskall and Python took extra care to double and triple check, to cross-verify, that both had their elytra equipt.

__

However, every time Iskall went to descend, something stopped him. He couldn't really explain it, like some internal force keeping him rooted to one spot. And the fear. There was nothing to be afraid of, he knew. He could hear the distant sound of Python, next to him, trying to get his attention. But it wasn't as loud as the voice.

__

_Do not jump._

__

Iskall never saw the ghast.

__

* * *

__

Impulse was waiting; if you could call it that. Grian and Tango had arrived about an hour ago, and the latter said he needed to wait for the sun's zenith before he could continue. Impulse had asked what the zenith had to do with anything, Tango couldn't answer him. Said it was a 'gut feeling'. And since Impulse couldn't speed up the sun, he waited.

__

Various hermits had filtered in over the past hour. Zedaph was there, giving much-needed moral support to Impulse and Tango. False and Wels were ready to jump into X's Nether portal as soon as they were able. Mumbo had given Impulse a thumbs up when he arrived, too anxious to speak. 

__

A few hermits weren't there. Joe, Cleo, and Scar were at the Ministry watching over Cub. Biffa, Jevin, Doc, and Ren all said they weren't coming, and Impulse didn't blame them. If he didn't have to be here, he most likely wouldn't be here.

__

Impulse heard movement; Tango was showing the other three 'avatars' to their corresponding spots around the altar. Stress to the North, Grian to the East, TFC to the West, and Tango himself to the South. They were interrupted by a buzz from their comms–

__

_iskall85 fell from a high place_

__

–and the world exploded into brilliant diamond blue light.

__

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end of Act 1 is in sight!
> 
> Argetaie: Just to add a bit of suspense ;) He's not the one you should be worried about... :D
> 
> Thanks for reading!! See you another 3 weeks!!


	9. End Act 1: As Morn Breaks, the Sun Shines Fiercely

Something was _very _wrong, that much was apparent. Without checking his comms, Tango knew, as he had with Cub and Xisuma, that Iskall was dead. That's not what was so troubling, though. The flash of blue and the sudden horribly alien glee rippling through him freaked him out.

Now, more than ever, Tango needed to focus. Never mind that every hermit who came to watch was also dead, but Iskall dying was critical and Tango didn't have time to find out why.

He could hear TFC–or Earth, rather–directing Stress and Grian to stay in position, and for that he was grateful; he could focus on what he needed to do.

Which was–he now realized–to facilitate a little chat.

* * *

He never felt himself hit the ground. One instant he was falling in incredible pain, the next he was standing in front of a massive pillar of fire.

Iskall expected to be afraid, but he wasn't. He was _furious_; part of him realizing the fury wasn't entirely his own.

As the pillar of flame walked closer to him, a voice rang through the thick air:

_How dare you._

The pillar stopped. Again, the voice rang out:

_How _ ** _dare_ ** _ you._

The pillar looked as if it would speak, but it never got the chance; it disappeared in a flash of smoke. Behind the clearing smoke, however–

Was Xisuma.

~

Xisuma's base was a whirling inferno. The only thing keeping the four avatars from burning was Tango's sheer will; a will he directed at the inferno itself.

"Fire! As I am bound to you, so you are bound to me! _Answer!_"

_I need not answer you!_

Tango looked at Fire grimly. "You already have." He layed his hand on the altar's southern point, the other avatars mirroring him.

_Do you even know what that does?_

"I do," said Earth, calm and unfazed. "It calls forth the wronged, and you have just committed a grave mistake without considering the consequences."

Another flash of brilliant blue light and Fire was thrown into the wall, a sparkling diamond figure where he had stood.

_How _ ** _dare_ ** _ you! You thought I wouldn't interfere!? _

_Wh–I don't understand–_

_Because you don't think! You never think! Now your avatar has to do it for you!?_

~

"X?" Iskall, still in shock, was trying to process everything. "I thought you were dead. Or am I dead?"

"We're both dead. Though, I'm wondering who the diamond-blue person behind you was; he seemed furious," said X, looking past him.

"Diamond? Huh." Maybe that would explain a few things. "What have you been doing this whole time?"

X looked amused. "Saving you and Python from mobs of pigmen for one."

"Ah, that was...quite nice. Thank you."

A pause.

"So now what do we do?"

~

_What have you done with him!?_

_Nothing yet! Why would you even care!?_

_Why would I care!? WHY WOULD I CARE!? Surely you can't be this blind. Release him!_

_As if I'd listen to the likes of you._

** _Don't make me force you._ **

_Oh, you're threatening me? Is this how you want to handle this!?_

** _YOU WRONGED ME._ **

_..._

** _RETURN HIM._ **

For a moment nothing moved but sparks and embers. The internal conversation that took place must have made an impression; Fire's flames dampened. He seemed almost afraid.

_...alright geez. Calm down._

A flash of light.

~

Joe was kind of glad he hadn't gone. When he'd asked Cleo if she wanted to watch the spectacle, she'd reminded him about Cub, and about how he might wake up alone and utterly confused. And even though Joe was ready to go outside and safely die from a creeper-induced heart attack, she was right. He thrived on confusion, but that would be just tacky.

They had been conversing quietly—Cleo was telling him of a weird dream she had earlier—when an explosion went off, in the distance, from the direction of X's base. Joe could think of a few reasons why that would happen, but none of them were good. Evidently, Cleo came to a similar conclusion and started to head outside.

But before they could make it far, a noise could be heard from the Ministry.

Cub was waking up.

~

Whatever panic Python had when Iskall passed out in the tunnel now returned tenfold. As he laid Iskall's body next to X's, he tried his best not to think about his situation. He already disliked the Nether; hours and hours of quartz mining had seen to that. Now, alone with no foreseeable way out, Python knew he would never go back in if he could help it.

But all that dread soon turned to relief as two of his friends, one just recently taken, started to stir.

* * *

Several days had passed since Cub found himself in the Ministry and X, Iskall, and Python walked out of the Nether. Outwardly, things returned to a normal rhythm. But know everyone knew they weren't alone. Besides the Four Cardinal Directions–as they were now known–no other avatars were revealed. Some hermits, however, had their suspicions.

X had been in his base for the past day or so, sifting through world data. He had suspicions on a few counts, and both had finally borne fruit.

First, he'd confirmed his (suspicions) about the shadowy being who approached him years ago. They had been an Element from the End, yet his encounter with them left him scarred and definitely not an avatar. He hadn't yet found why.

His second findings were on the diamond-blue person and his connection–if any–to Iskall. And hoo boy, was there a connection. There was the same connection between the two of them as there was between Tango and Fire, or Stress and Water. Iskall was Diamond's avatar.

Curious, X had searched the other hermits for a similar connection, and found two. Doc and Ren. Doc had been fairly easy to figure out; his scary ability to mold redstone to his liking, his eerily accurate diagnostics on whatever was wrong with a circuit, his strange cybernetics. Doc was Redstone's avatar.

But Ren. Ren was a mystery. The only reason X had figured out Iskall and Doc's Elements was because he already had had an idea of who it could be; but with Ren, he had no such idea.

All X could do now was wait.

* * *

"I don't know why I wasn't killed by the magic blast, Tango. I was kind of hoping you would know."

"But you were killed when you hit the wall..."

"Are you trying to figure out why?"

Tango looked at Zed, amused. "And you don't want to know?"

Zed laughed, saying, "I just thought it was my wonderful personality."

"To save you from an incredibly powerful magic blast?" Joking as they were, Tango was deep in thought. And in a situation like this, there was only one thing to do, experiment!

* * *

As he approached the entrance to the Stock Exchange station, Mumbo was pleasantly surprised to not hear angry yelling. Entering the station proper, he couldn't immediately see Doc, but he knew he was here.

Sure enough, Doc was working on the departure/arrival area of track, fine-tuning the minecart dispensing and re-uptake system. 

"Doc? You here, mate?"

A head poked up from behind the platform. "Yeah, man. What's up? Checking in on me?"

Mumbo looked a little sheepish. "Yeah, kind of. You all right? Redstone no longer going haywire?"

Doc climbed out of the rail pit and looked at the vending machine. "No, it's weird. After this whole 'Element' dealio, everything's gone back to normal. I'm not sure how to explain it, but I don't really want to know, either."

"Yep, I can understand that. don't want to mess with anything."

"Yes, that."

They both stood in companionable silence for a few moments before Mumbo asked, "So, you want any help with this one?"

Doc looked at him, amused. "If you're up for it, then I won't turn you down."

As they worked, Mumbo was constantly amazed by how intimately Doc knew his redstone circuits, able to pinpoint exactly where a change needed to take place without needing visual contact with it. Between the two of them, redstone powerhouses in their own ways, the minecart circulation system was one of the most beautifully constructed machines either of them had seen.

* * *

"They really aren't leaving you alone, are they?"

"I feel like they think I've been away too long."

Stress laughed as one of the huskies tugged on Iskall's sleeve as he tried to leave the lab. "And what makes you think that?"

"Hercules! Honestly! I'm not going very far! Sit!" Hercules obediently, if a bit reluctantly, let go of Iskall's sleeve and sat. "I'll be twenty minutes, and I'll be back, ok?" Iskall scratched Hercules' ears and said, "Good boy. I'll be back soon, I promise."  
Hercules whined, but stayed put.

Finally able to take off, Iskall went after Stress, who was already in the air, waiting for him. When she'd contacted him about the ice farm (of doom), he welcomed something fresh to do.

"From how he acts, you'd think it's been weeks since he last saw you," said Stress as they flew side by side.

"Well, he's always been more attached to me that Venus is. Besides, I think he could feel what I went through. You ever had that feeling? That your dogs know what you go through?"

"That hadn't really occurred to me, but now that you mention it, I could believe a few of them do." Stress paused for a moment, before continuing, "The rest, I'm not too sure about."

The rest of the way to the ice farm, they chatted; mostly about their animal companions and future plans for the lab.

* * *

It was dark. The sun was far overhead, but under the dense jungle canopy, it was dark. A shape edged through the shadows, careful to not disturb whatever might be lurking beyond them. A parrot, intrigued by this movement, perched nearby and started chattering.

"Where did—? Shush! Not now, dude!" Ren was desperately trying to quiet his stubborn new friend, who was quite happy to argue back.

"Of course I can handle myself, I'd just rather not tangle with anything if I can help it! Don't you have someone else you can bother?" Ren listened to the bird. "Fine. Come along if you must, but please. Be quiet!" The bird settled herself on his shoulder, quite pleased.

Now thoroughly distracted, Ren had to get back on track. He was looking for an ocelot, though why he wasn't quite sure. Even if he did find one, he wasn't sure he could get very close. He wasn't stealthy like Python, or fast like Grian; and ocelots were notoriously difficult to negotiate with. Negotiating was still his best bet.

It took the better part of an hour for him to glimpse a flash of yellow in the dense foliage. Crouching down, he once more impressed the importance of silence to his parrot passenger; he didn't want to spend more time than he had to out here. She ruffled her feathers and stayed quiet.

When he moved closer, Ren heard a small mew. Tentative, inquisitive.

"No, I'm not going to hurt you." He listened to the ocelot meowing, answering, "No, nothing like that. I just want to talk."

As the ocelot slowly crept from it's hiding place, Ren became aware of a gentle green glow from behind him. Turning around, a figure seemed to emerge from the trunk of the nearest tree. If that wasn't enough to make him faint, she spoke.

_Welcome. The forest has accepted you, you are finally ready. Come, walk with me._

Utterly shocked, Ren fainted dead away. Maybe it was a bit too much. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> END OF ACT 1
> 
> Argetaie, notEriX, thanks for the lovely comments!!
> 
> Don't worry, this fiasco may be over, but the hermits seem to find no end of trouble...


	10. Interlude: Death and Science

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, what are the other hermits getting up to?

Night was encroaching, the stars coming out. The moon shimmered softly on the surface of the lake, it's fullness bathing the water in a soft silver glow. A figure sat at the edge of the lake as she dangled her feet in the cool water, disturbing the reflection of the moon with gentle ripples. In the middle of the lake, another disturbance started slowly coming closer. When it was just a few feet away, it stopped and looked at the sitting figure. After a moment, it disappeared.

Cleo sighed. The drowned were still apprehensive of her. They were still relatively new to the world, but every time one refused to approach her, she still felt disappointed.

Cleo heard a sound behind her and quickly turned. The undead might leave her alone, but creepers and spiders were still a nuisance. There was no hissy green, no beady red eyes. Reassured, she turned back to watch the moon rising.

Another sound, this time off to the right. At first, she thought it was an enderman, but it moved strangely; it looked to be floating.

And it was heading straight for her.

Cleo lept to her feet and pulled out her sword, ready to defend herself. The robed figure, upon seeing the weapon, stopped several feet away.

_I do not mean to frighten you._

That stopped Cleo in her tracks, sword forgotten. "Oh, don't tell me you're an Element."

The figure inclined their head, revealing a glimpse of a pale visage. _You have a quick mind. Yes, I am an Element. Death, to be exact._

Cleo's undead brain was quickly putting pieces together, and she did not know if she liked the conclusion she arrived at.

"And you've come to tell me that I'm your avatar, I know. A bit cliché to pick the undead one, but that's fine."

_Actually, no._

"What?"

_It is true you have a connection with the dead and the undead, but that began long before we met._

"So wait, I'm _not_ your avatar? So...what exactly are you doing here? Talking to me?"

_I have a proposition for you. _Death moved closer, stopping at the edge of the lake before continuing. _You are intrinsically linked with the abstract of death and I am a manifestation of it. Because of this, we have an indirect link; one that is unique and could prove useful._

Cleo stared at them for a few moments, not quite understanding what was going on. "And what about it? What are you proposing?"

_Death is one of the more important domains, if not the most important. You witnessed that a few weeks ago._

Cleo did remember the worrying not-quite-permadeath and the ghostlike wandering that Iskall and especially Xisuma had described when they climbed out of the Nether. For one reason or another, Cub hadn't experienced the same out-of-body ordeal as the other two.

"And what can we do about that?"

Death gazed out over the water, now a still mirror reflecting the full moon in all it's glory. After a moment, they spoke.

_I cannot keep watch over every aspect of my domain, and that is a dangerous thing. Fire was able to fiddle with the respawn mechanics, and that almost ended in calamity. But if I were to shift focus towards preventing another incident __like that __from happening, the undead would get out of control. _Death looked at Cleo._ That is where you come in._

"You want me to watch over the death mechanics? Not sure how I could do that, but I could give it a try. Sounds like something X would do."

Cleo heard a small chuckle from the Element, or at least she thought she did. Did Death laugh? Seemed kind of dreary if they didn't, Cleo thought.

_No, though I wouldn't doubt you could find a way to do that. _Death became serious once more. _No. Your work would be keeping the undead under control. You already have __a __decent __hold__ over them; it would just be a matter of keeping them in check. _

"So you're implying I could make every undead completely passive if I wanted?"

_Yes, but the effort would kill you. _Cleo just gave Death a look. _Well, would permakill you__, _Death amended. _Remove you from this world. It might even destroy you entirely, if you were unlucky__._

That wiped that idea from Cleo's mind right quick. "I assume being destroyed entirely is a very bad thing."

_Yes. I have never witnessed it myself, but there are many worlds out there, and since it is a form of death, I know it is possible._

The two of them watched a skeleton battle a creeper, which went as well as expected. As Cleo watched the creeper explode the skeleton, she asked, "Before, you said what Fire did almost ended in calamity. What would have happened if we hadn't done anything?"

_That is a good question with a complicated answer._

"Let me guess, an answer you won't give."

Death looked through Cleo, a very unpleasant sensation. _It is not something to tell on a whim. If you want to know, then I shall tell you._

"Oh, that bad, huh? I'm sure I can take it."

_Very well. Now, somehow Fire had gotten it in his head that he wasn't being given the respect he deserves. He claims–_

"Wait, how would he get the 'respect he deserves' if we didn't even know you guys existed?"

_Please, try not to interrupt. He claims to have been influenced by an outside power, which is quite believable. Both for the reason you mentioned, and for the fact this is uncharacteristic of him. For whatever reason, he decided to claim a few of your friends as...I'm not quite sure. I_ _ don't believe _ _he was quite sure either, since he's always complained how his hands were full with just his avatar. Normally this wouldn't have been that bad. Rude and disruptive to all of you, but not terrible in the grand scheme of things._

"But something _made_ it terrible in the grand scheme of things."

_It was two things actually. It was the way Fire was going to gain control of those who had fallen victim to him and one of the hermits who had gotten caught. And what did I say about interrupting? _

"Sorry."

_Now, the method Fire was going to use was one of subduction. A hook of his power would be placed in their souls to compel them to be more susceptible to whatever he said. Again, I'm not sure why he would do this, or to what end. For the most part, an individual can handle the influence of an Element. But the influence of two? Is more than lethal._

The sun was starting to rise, the wind picking up across the lake. The faint sound of a skeleton burning was complemented by the chirping of birds. Evidently, Death took this as their cue to leave.

As they were making their leave, Cleo asked, "Wait, you're just going to leave it at that? You didn't finish."

Death turned back towards her and said, _It is time for me to go, I cannot stay forever. Maybe we can finish the hypothetical another time. Watch over your undead friends for me._

"Yeah that I will. Don't think Carol's going to be too happy about that."

* * *

Quite a bit of noise was emanating from Tango's storage, so much that Zedaph wasn't sure what was going on. It seemed like Tango was looking for something, but he was making an awful lot of noise in doing so.

"So, what exactly are you looking for?"

"A flint and steel! Though I had one around here from a while ago, but I probably tossed it out." Tango poked his head out of an opened chest and asked, "You haven't got one on you by any chance?"

Zed was genuinely confused by that. "I thought you could light fires wherever, whenever. What do you need a flint and steel for?"

"I have an idea." Tango was making a flint now. "Everyone else was killed by a magic blast, you weren't. My fire is magical, this flint's isn't. Now come over here! I wanna try something!"

Zed did not come closer. "You want to set me on fire?"

"Yes I want to set you on fire, but it's for science! Here, we'll go to the pond at the base of the entrance, that way you can put yourself out it you want to." Tango took off into his base towards the entrance, Zed tentatively following him. Zed was always for a good science experiment, but he wasn't too keen on one where he was the test subject. And there was fire involved.

Zed's suspicion proved valid, as Tango set him alight the instant he touched the ground. His body was immediately racked with pain, prompting him to beeline towards the pond of water. Zed wasn't sure what Tango accomplished with that, but as he climbed out of the water, he noticed Tango was more focused than he had expected. It seemed his friend was taking his experiment seriously.

Tango studied Zed for a moment more, then asked, "So, that hurt? It did damage?"

"Uh, yeah, of course it did damage! What else were you expecting? Somehow I don't think I'm fireproof!"

"Uh-huh, yeah. I didn't expect you to be fire-resistant. That was the control. Now with the real test!" And he set Zed alight again, this time with his own flame.

Zed initially thought Tango had missed, but when he looked down, he saw flames licking his body. No pain came, which was very much a surprise to both men; Tango watched Zed just...stand there. On fire.

"So...it doesn't hurt? At all?" Tango asked.

"No," said Zed, bemused. "It doesn't even feel warm. I suppose that's a bit disappointing."

"Disappointing? Of course it would be." Tango thought for a bit, before saying, "I think I have a better idea of what it is."

"Of this thing you absolutely must figure out? Do tell."

Functionally, Tango knew his fire and 'normal' fire were the same, with only one minor difference; his own fire was magically created from his ties to his Element. Pair that observation with the magic blast a few weeks ago; everyone present died from the blast itself, Zed died from hitting the wall. Those two findings pointed to:

"You seem to be immune to magic."

Zed had to process this for a moment. "You know, that actually makes sense. The few times I've fought with Vexes, I'd always assume they were missing me. And! I've only been to ocean monuments a few times, and I've never been hit by the magic fishies! I thought I was just getting lucky."

"We should take this finding to X! He can use his super admin powers to find out more about it!"

"Tango, you seem more excited about this than I am. And anyway, I'm not sure I want to flaunt this right now, I'd rather get a feel for it myself first."

"Right! That's probably a good idea. Don't want to rush into things." Tango studied Zed, a playful look in his eye. "Waddya say to a few more experiments?"

"As long as they don't involve me getting hurt!" Zed said exasperatedly.

"Oh, I'm not sure I can guarantee that..." Tango said. He had mobs on the mind, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FYI interludes are short stories tying acts together
> 
> Argetaie: Mumbo has something else that will come into play further down the line. ;)
> 
> notEriX: Aww!! The highest of praises!! <3
> 
> I'm also going to change how I reply to comments; old way is a holdover from FF.net phase


	11. Interlude: In the Woods

It was warm. A bit too warm, and humid as well. The feeling of wet sandpaper on his cheek and a twittering in his ear.

As Ren opened his eyes, he was greeted by the big green eyes of the ocelot, who was currently licking his face. Startled by the movement, the small cat retreated back a bit before settling down to watch. As he sat up, Ren saw his new bird friend on the shoulder of a woman—or at least he thought she was a woman, for she glowed a vibrant green. There was something strikingly familiar about her, he just couldn't put his finger on it.

_Oh good,_ she said, _you're finally awake._

"Do I know you from somewhere? Because it certainly feels like I do."

_Yes! Although you may not know that you know; if that makes any sense._

"No, that doesn't really." Ren stopped, then said, "Wait, you aren't an Element, are you?"

_A good observation! Or was it a lucky guess? _the woman asked.

"Well, with all the things going on recently," he said, "It wasn't that hard."

The woman sighed, absent-mindedly stroking the ocelot. _Ah, yes. The goings-on. My siblings haven't behaved very well. After the near-annihilation of one of your friends, we decided to step in and guide you hermits. _Annoyed, she said, _Frankly I thought we should have done that months ago, but __I was overruled._

"Wait, one of my friends was almost annihilated? When did that happen?" The bird twittered, adding her own concern to Ren's question.

_I don't believe that is why we're here. I am Life, and I have chosen you as my avatar._

Ren was glad he was still sitting; after seeing the experiences of the other avatars, he wasn't too enthusiastic about being one himself. Life must have noticed his subdued reaction, because her next words were ones of reassurance.

_I am aware that your experience and knowledge about this whole thing isn't the most positive, but you must know that is not the norm. We Elements need to build positive relations with you hermits, both for your sake and our own. _The ocelot leapt from her lap and started to explore. Life watched him for a bit before turning back to Ren. _You and I are connected. If anything were to happen to either of us, the other would feel it as well._

"That sounds...ominous."

_It may seem so, but it ensures we work together. _Life stood up and held out a hand. _ Are you ready for that walk?_

After a moment, Ren took her offered hand. "Now that I've had a moment to chill, I think I am."

_Good. I have something to show you._

"I just hope it isn't something too—" Ren didn't get to finish, he was too busy processing the scenery change. One moment they were were walking through the jungle, the next they were floating above the Iron Titan. Life gave him a few moments before bringing him to the next location; the inner workings of a slime farm. And so it went. She would bring him to different locations around the world; a villager breeder here, a wool farm there. Even his own tree farm.

Ren realized Life was showing him how he and his friends interacted not only with the animals, but with life on the world in general. Almost as soon as he made that connection, they returned to the jungle. The bird was waiting for them and didn't waste time lighting on his shoulder. The ocelot was nowhere to be found.

_Watching you all come up with different and interesting ways to interact with my domain is always entertaining, _Life said. Her wistful expression turned solemn. _But there is a rumbling in the forests, a murmur in the seas, a whisper on the winds. Living things all over grow restless, and I am not capable of addressing their worries on my own._

"I'm guessing this is where I come in?" Ren asked, stroking the bird on his shoulder.

_Very good! I promise it won't be difficult, just concerns the living have. Things important to them, even if they don't seem so to you. _Life turned to Ren before continuing. _If anything they find is concerning to you as well, then I ask you to tell me. The bigger worries, we would need to tackle together._

"Ok, I think I can do that." Ren sounded more confident than he felt.

_There is one more thing I should tell you about..._

* * *

When Ren said he was off to find a jungle, no one questioned it. When he failed to return after several hours, a few hermits became concerned. When he failed to answer his coms, that's when Xisuma asked Iskall to look for him.

Iskall, having just finished recovering from his and Python's Nether escapade, just gave him a look before flying off. It wasn't that Iskall didn't want to look for Ren; it was more the location. Warm and humid was worse than hot and dry in his book.

So here he was, making his way through the jungle Ren had gone to, slipping into his diamond sense every once and a while. At least the search wasn't deathly boring; Diamond poked his voice into Iskall's head every so often to "keep him company". It wasn't the best company, but the Element was trying.

A flash of yellow caught Iskall's attention before he realized it was an ocelot. He'd seen three others during his search and they had all, predictably, run away. But—

There it was again!

It was staring at him with an unnerving intensity. It turned, as if to flee, but then stopped and looked back.

_I think it wants you to follow._

Iskall started as Diamond's voice broke the silence of the jungle.

"Dude! Don't do that! You scared the life out of me!" Iskall leaned against a tree, calming his beating heart.

_Apologies! I keep forgetting how weird this all is._

The ocelot, momentarily startled, was still watching him. Its body language was so blatant, Iskall had to agree with Diamond; the ocelot wanted him to follow. So he sighed, and did just that.

* * *

The ocelot led Iskall through a flower forest, two plains, and a savannah. They were in the midst of a roofed forest when he started to get the feeling the jungle cat wasn't really leading him anywhere. It was a massive roofed forest, larger than any he remembered seeing. Deeper and deeper the ocelot ran, yellow fur starkly out of place. Further and further Iskall followed the cat—

Until it stopped, hissed, and vanished up a tree.

Now thoroughly frustrated and confused, Iskall just wanted to go home. He checked his comms; maybe Ren had made his way back already. 

Nope. Nothing.

Confusion turning into concern, he checked his coordinates. The numbers were flickering. Iskall sighed. He'd experienced this before; go too far in one direction, things started to get a little weird. Still, the ocelot had led him in a straight line; it would be trivial to retrace his steps.

First, he had to make a shelter. The sun was setting fast and mobs would start finding him. Scanning the depths of the forest, Iskall froze.

Sniffing at the ground, fifty feet away, was a massive brown wolf.

At the same time he saw the wolf, the wolf saw him.

Ears pricked, it started bounding towards him only to be stopped in its tracks by a glittering diamond glave. Tail between its legs, it took a few steps back.

Iskall knew he shouldn't try to fight something of this size, but something was keeping his feet nailed to the ground. 

Breaking the impasse, the wolf made a few tentative bows, tail wagging high; a behavior Iskall actually recognized from whenever Hercules tried to get him or Venus to play. Iskall carefully lowered his glave. Was this wolf really trying to get him to play with it?

Ever so carefully, the wolf started to edge closer and closer, enough so Iskall could see it was easily the size of a horse. And this horse-sized wolf was now butting his shoulder.

As Iskall reached up to touch its muzzle, he breathed, "What are you?"

At this, the wolf pricked its ears and turned away to sniff at the ground. Iskall watched in disbelief as it grabbed a large stick in its jaws and began to carve into the ground. The lines were shakey, but soon an R became apparent. After four quick strikes for an E, he started to get a suspicion about what the wolf was getting at. A few more strikes and his suspicions were confirmed.

Iskall was now thoroughly fascinated. "Ren?"

The wolf dropped the stick and bounded around in circles, something Venus and Hercules did when they were indescribably happy. Then it– no, _he_ came up and bumped his nose into Iskall's shoulder again, staring into his eye. Asking a question.

"Yeah yeah," Iskall said, gently pushing Ren's muzzle away. "Let's go home."

Neither noticed a passenger nestled happily in Ren's fur as she ruffled her feathers and went to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *touches ground* it's been years...
> 
> No but really, it's been a while :T I'm trying to get back into the swing of things by punching executive dysfunction in the face and actually getting things done, so there should be more soon. (don't hold me to that...) I 'preciate you guys leaving kudos five months after the last update <3
> 
> Anyway, yeah. Ren's a wolf. Didn't see that coming...


End file.
